12 Sessions to Help Students Understand Their Place in God’s Story
Andrew Hedges
Zondervan, 2012, 160 pp., $16.99

Creative Bible Lessons on the Trinity by Andrew Hedges is a timely resource to put into the hands of youthworkers. Hedges has put together a series of lessons that is creative yet extremely practical. The subject of the Trinity sounds as if it could be theoretical and esoteric, but it is profound and very teenage friendly. Your students will greatly benefit from this study.
–David Olshine, Director of Youth Ministry, Family and Culture, Columbia International University, Columbia, South Carolina

The 16th in the series and the third by author Andrew Hedges, Creative Bible Lesson On the Trinity once again lives up to the name with 12 incredibly creative sessions on the topic of the Trinity. Each session is unique from the rest with interactive activities, attention-grabbing video ideas, and solid student handouts. Each session is planned with at least 60 minutes of learning that also includes an assortment of options from object lesson and dramas to a few artistic suggestions.

I especially appreciate the introduction of a “philosophy of learning” in the book. The book helps teach differentiation of instruction and how to meet the needs of the multiple learning styles in your group setting. The book identifies learners as imaginative, analytic, common sense and dynamic learner. Throughout the book, a symbol is assigned for each learning style and used to help match the best option for the learning needs of the group.

Whether you’re a in a large or small ministry, this book easily adapts to your setting. The “Hearing the Word” sections are set up for small group discussion and can be used in an adult-led small groups or in student-to-student break-out groups. The range of activities and options allows it to be used effortlessly in with middle school/junior high and senior high groups. This book, much like the rest of the Creative Bible Lesson Series, is an outstanding teaching resource for any youth worker.
—Dan Istvanik

Creative Bible Lesson on the Trinity is a curriculum tool and resource for youth workers and youth ministries that looks at the Trinity. This is not an easy topic to teach or understand, and this curriculum tries to use a variety of teaching approaches and tools to talk about the Trinity with youth. The 12 sessions cover a variety of aspects of the Trinity. The curriculum could be used as a series or independently as it does a good job of looking at the character and nature of God. Creative Bible Lessons on the Trinity probably would work best with smaller groups (such as Sunday School or a small group Bible study), especially if you intend to go through the whole book. It might be too deep for middle school youth, but could serve as a great introduction. Like all youth ministry curricula, there is more here than most youth workers would need for a youth ministry program; and it is certainly not a perfect tool. So, its important to plan, prepare and choose the pieces of each lesson that best fit your context. I would recommend this curriculum for youth ministries looking for a good, fairly easy-to-use resource on the Trinity.
—Rev. Marcus J. Carlson has worked with children and youth for more than 13 years and is a spiritual director. He current serves as Associate Pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Andrew does a great job in this study of the Trinity. This book could not have come at a better time as I was preparing for my new series with my students. It has great statements that will stick with my students, as well as an easy-to-use format. This is great for my Wednesday night groups, as well as some of our high school Bible studies before school. This is a must-have for youth workers.
–Christopher Pope, Student Pastor, Cornerstone Community Church

Creative Bible Lessons on the Trinity is the newest in a series of great lesson books published by Youth Specialties. Each lesson has several options or ideas, allowing the teacher to be flexible and adjust the content based on the setting and the students being taught. These lessons will stir conversation and are designed to get everyone involved. As a teacher, I like that everything is labeled and organized well; it is easy to follow, and contains suggested comments throughout. As a youth minister, I love that this is one book I can hand to a teacher and know the next three months of lessons will be top-notch and challenging for the students. This curriculum works great in a Sunday School or small group setting and can be adjusted to fit into any other teaching format you need.
–Mike Kupferer has been teaching students about God for more than a decade. He is currently serving in Northwest Ohio.

Often—or maybe always—the Trinity is hard to explain to students. Let’s face it, the egg example doesn’t always answer the pressing questions from students. Andrew Hedges offers a better resource then the egg, one that will answer the tough questions and engage students to pursue deeper levels of God’s awesomeness. Not only can you use these lessons as a whole, but you can use them as split lessons (i.e., Confirmation classes). There is plenty of material here, which makes each lesson pliable. This is a great resource to have in your library of studies.
—Shawn Harrison, Student and Family Pastor, Wayne Street United Methodist Church, Saint Marys, Ohio.

Whenever someone is willing to wrestle with the Trinity and think about how to make this divine mystery comprehendible to youth, I give them props as this is no easy task. This is an ambitious undertaking with some great ideas of substance to help youth of all learning styles grapple with our Triune God. My only hesitation in using this book is whether I would consider its primary focus to be on the Trinity or the foundational beliefs of Christianity as they are presented in the Apostle’s Creed (the final lesson) as the lessons focus on concepts such as the virgin birth, the incarnation and atonement. Perhaps it would be better to advertise the book as a study in the theological foundations of Christianity or the Apostle’s Creed, as the title gives the idea this is a study focused on understanding the Trinity as whole. My recommendation would be to use this book with youth who have been immersed in the life of the church for a while and are familiar with the stories of the Bible as each lesson uses multiple Scripture verses and assumes some familiarity with them.
–Rev. Seth M. Vopat, Associate Pastor of Youth and Family, Louisburg First Baptist Church, Overland Park, Kansas

Creative Bible Lessons on the Trinity by Andrew Hedges provides youth workers with a quick, small prep, teaching series about the Trinity. It provides the teaching leader options, which is important as different things work in different settings. No two youth groups are alike. This book helps teachers introduce students to the sometimes confusing but theologically important aspects of the Trinity through a variety of means. If you’re look to teach about the Trinity, this resource provides a jumping off point.
–Scott Nichols, M.Div., Pastor of Student Ministries, Canyon Del Oro Baptist Church

What I love most about this book is it gives us something other than an egg or the various states of water to describe the Trinity. Hedges reveals the Trinity in community, and this curriculum will help students see how God is uniquely a part of their lives in everyday moments.
–Tony Myles, author, ministry coach, volunteer youth worker and lead pastor of Connection Church, Medina, Ohio.

This is a great resource for youth workers in trying to communicate a very difficult but important theological concept to students. Hedges does a great job providing solid material for the leader, as well as thoughtful activities for the students to connect with. The use of Marelen LaFever’s learning style is very insightful and sets the stage for all types of students to be able to engage with the material. However, I would hesitate to use Hedge’s first chapter as the first lesson in a teaching series. I would be concerned that talking about the historical (and heretical) interpretations of the Trinity would be confusing for students who have not yet grasped the foundational concepts.
–Joel Heald

If you are ready for a change from surface-only, issue-only curriculum, Andrew Hedges’ Creative Bible Lessons on the Trinity is here. Andrew breaks down the teaching process and gives us little clues toward understanding which parts of the lessons target certain kinds of learners in your group. There are 12 lessons in all, so it will fit your quarterly Sunday School or small group schedule, but there are bigger pieces of the lessons such as video clips and games that can fit into a larger youth meeting setting. I appreciate the care Hedges took with a subject as difficult as the Trinity. This kind of material will take your kids to the deep end of the pool, but it won’t let them drown if you have the right life guard. This is not the kind of material you can throw at a rookie teacher, so be careful to walk them through the material. Each lesson has about an hour’s worth of material and is easily customizable for your group’s needs.
—Paul Turner, Youth Pastor, Pleasant Grove Assembly, Pleasant Grove, Alabama

###